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The months of October and November are shaping up to have some great lectures and presentations on cryptography, security and privacy.

Keysigning materials

Yesterday started off with an informal keysigning at the KWLUG meeting. The presentation was on the Scratch programming environment, nothing to do with GnuPG/PGP or cryptography. But a few of us exchanged little slips of paper with our key fingerprints, verified that the name with the fingerprint matched the person we knew, signed the keys, and so improved our standing in the Web of Trust. I hope that this becomes a regular part of all KWLUG meetings. The more people that participate, the more confident we can be about the validity of keys we may not have verified ourselves.

Today I attended the first UofW CSClub lecture on Security and Privacy by Sarah Harvey. If you’ve been following the news about the Snowden revelations you’ll know why security and privacy is important. The room was full of computer science, math and cryptography students, so the discussions were deep and technical.

Sarah Harvey shows a slide of Edward Snowden

There was a vacancy in the November KWLUG meeting so I asked Sarah if she would repeat her lecture. Let’s see what the KWLUG bosses have to say…

There are more CSClub lectures scheduled, check the schedule on the CSClub site.

KWCrypto logo, the M-209 cipher machine

I’ve volunteered to do a presentation on Encrypting E-mail with GnuPG, Thunderbird and Enigmail, followed by a formal keysigning. I’m developing the presentation notes and keysigning procedure on the KWCrypto Interest Group Wiki that was set up after the Kwartzlab keysigning party last year. Please join me on the Wiki and the mailing list — I’d appreciate the help.

–Bob.

Tux the Penguin, official mascot of the Linux kernel

More GNU/Linux Resources

People have asked me about GNU/Linux resources in K-W, so here are some of them, gathered in one convenient place. This is by no means an exhaustive list (yet). If you know of others, please let me know in the comments.

KW Linux Users Group — http://kwlug.org

The KWLUG mailing list for general discussion is where all the action is, along with a “Help” list for specific questions. Microblogging as @kwlug and !kwlug on Identi.ca and also @kwlug on Twitter.

Ubuntu Canada KW chapter — https://wiki.ubuntu.com/CanadianTeam/KitchenerWaterloo

There’s a low traffic Ubuntu-CA-KW mailing list. Microblogging on Twitter as @ubuntuwaterloo and on Identi.ca as @ubuntuwaterloo too, with a group at !ubuntucakw. Some members can also be found on the IRC channel #ubuntu-ca-kw on Freenode.net.

Ubuntu-CA-KW has regular Ubuntu Hours in Kitchener (first Friday of the month) and Waterloo (third Wednesday of the month) announced on Identi.ca, Twitter, and sometimes the mailing list.

Ubuntu Canada — https://wiki.ubuntu.com/CanadianTeam

Again, the Ubuntu Canada mailing list is where the action is, but there is also a web forum and the Ubuntu-ca.org website. Check out the Ubuntu Canada events listing. There’s an !ubuntuca group on Identi.ca, and many people can be found on the IRC channel #ubuntu-ca on Freenode.net.

Computer Recycling — http://theworkingcentre.org/at/comp_recycling/comp_recycling.html

Computer Recycling at The Working Centre sells refurbished computers pre-installed with GNU/Linux, and offers a repair shop with staff and volunteers who are enthusiastic and knowledgeable about GNU/Linux. Every Saturday is Ubuntu Day: 10:00am to 4:00pm, Hours are Tuesday to Friday, 10:00am to 5:00pm, at 66 Queen St. S. in Kitchener (use the entrance on Charles St).

Kwartzlab — http://kwartzlab.ca

You’ll also want to keep an eye on Kwartzlab, the local makerspace where many of the Ubuntu events are held. There’s a discussion mailing list for members and non-members alike. Visit the workshop on Tuesday Open Night, 7:00pm to 10:00pm at 283 Duke St. W., Kitchener.

Watcamp Calendar — http://watcamp.com

Also check the Watcamp calendar for other GNU/Linux and many other tech events happening in the Waterloo area.

That should keep you going…

Bob Jonkman <bjonkman@sobac.com>         http://sobac.com/sobac/
SOBAC Microcomputer Services              Voice: +1-519-669-0388
6 James Street, Elmira ON  Canada  N3B 1L5  Cel: +1-519-635-9413
Software   ---   Office&  Business Automation   ---   Consulting

Update 6 June 2012: Clarified microblogging names and groups

Image of Tux by Larry Ewing, copied from Wikimedia Commons. Permission to use and/or modify this image is granted provided you acknowledge Larry Ewing lewing@isc.tamu.edu and The GIMP if someone asks.